AP Environmental Science 2014
Cedar Heights Jr. High
Stephanie Winslow
360-874-6021 Winslow@skitsap.wednet.edu
Scoring Components
SC1
SC2
The course provides instruction in Earth Systems.
The course provides instruction in Earth Resources.
SC3
SC4
SC5
SC6
SC7
SC8
SC9
SC10
The course
The course
The course
The course
The course
The course
The course
The course
SC11
The course provides students with the scientific principles required to
understand the interrelationships of the natural world and draws upon
various scientific disciplines.
The course includes methods for analyzing and interpreting information.
SC12
SC13
SC14
SC15
SC16
SC17
provides
provides
provides
provides
provides
provides
provides
provides
instruction in the Living World.
instruction in Population.
instruction in Land Use.
instruction in Water Use.
instruction in Energy Resources.
instruction in Energy Consumption.
instruction in Pollution.
instruction in Global Change.
The course includes methods for analyzing and interpreting experimental
data.
The course includes methods for analyzing and interpreting mathematical
calculations.
The course teaches students how to identify and analyze environmental
problems.
The course teaches students how to critically examine various solutions for
resolving or preventing environmental problems by evaluating the
associated ecological risks and human health risks.
The course includes a laboratory and/or field investigation component.
A minimum of one class period, or its equivalent, per week is spent engaged in
laboratory and/or fieldwork.
Course Description
Class Size and Scheduling:
Class size is not to exceed 31 because of district class size limits. The class periods are 50 minutes long
five times a week. Each weeks students will be completing lab work 2 times a week during the 50 minute
period.[SC17] Each semester consists of two nine-week periods.
Course Prerequisites and Requirements:
AP Environmental Science is open to freshmen students who have taken algebra. The students must be
prepared to work outdoors for many of the labs. AP Environmental Science is an applied science course.
Therefore, it is designed to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and
methodologies of the natural world and draws from various scientific disciplines. [SC11]
Textbook & Resources:
Living in the Environment, 18 ed. by G. Tyler Miller Jr., Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2015, 2012
Various Videos: NOVA Presentations, An Inconvenient Truth, Cane Toads, TED Talks, National
Geographic Presentations, etc.
Web Sites: Environmental News Network, Oxfam, Population Reference Bureau, etc.
Course Outline:
Topic
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15.
Approximate Duration
First Semester
Environmental Problems, Their Causes,
2 weeks
Sustainability [SC 1]
Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
1 week
Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do
1 week
They Work? [SC 3]
Biodiversity and Evolution [SC 10]
1 week
Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and
1 week
Population Control [SC 4]
The Human Population and Its Impact
1 week
[SC 4]
Climate and Biodiversity [SC 2]
1 week
Aquatic Biodiversity [SC 6]
1 week
Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Species and 1 week
Ecosystem Services [SC 10]
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: Saving
1 week
Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services
[SC 10]
Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity and
1 week
Ecosystem Services [SC 6, 10]
Food Production and the Environment
1 week
[SC 5]
Water Resources [SC 6]
1 week
Nonrenewable Mineral Resources [SC 2]
1 week
Nonrenewable Energy [SC 7]
1 week
Second Semester
16. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
1 week
[SC 8]
17. Environmental Hazards and Human Health 1 week
[SC 3]
18. Air Pollution [SC 9]
1 week
19. Climate Disruption [SC 10]
1 week
20. Water Pollution [SC 6, 9]
1 week
21. Solid and Hazardous Waste [SC 5, 9]
1 week
22. Urbanization and Sustainability [SC 4]
1 week
23. Economics, Environment, and
1 week
Sustainability [SC 10]
24. Politics, Environment, and Sustainability
1 week
[SC 10]
25. Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and
1 week
Sustainability [SC 3, 10]
Lab Component and Field Work:
Students work in small groups to complete labs. All experiments and activities have a purpose,
procedures and data tables prewritten by the student in his or her own lab book before commencing lab
work. Completed experiments must include purpose, procedures, data tables, data manipulation (basic
statistics), analysis of results and errors. Lab reports must be submitted within two days of completing
the experiment in the class. Lab experiences are always hands on, and include activities with set
procedures as well as open-ended, student designed investigations. A minimum of two periods per
week, specifically Wednesday and Thursday is spent performing lab work. Students have at least one,
on-going experiment each semester. Students are responsible for contributing to the course’s on-going
field study on water quality in our local community throughout the year. (SC 17)
Labs and Fieldwork to be completed this year
Biomass measurement of Owl pellets – students will identify and calculate the biomass that
owls will consume based on the contents of an owl pellet. (SC 12, SC 13, SC 14)
Water quality testing – students will test 3 samples from different water sources in the field. (SC
12, SC 13)
Squirrel Park lab – students will calculate the squirrel population that a specific forest area will
support based on the available food sources. (SC 12, SC 13)
Mark/Recapture Lab – Students will estimate deer mice population. (SC 13)
Home Energy Lab – students will conduct a home energy audit to calculate carbon dioxide
footprint. (SC 14, SC 15, SC 16)
Particulate Lab – students will measure the particulate count at various places on the school
grounds. Students’ lab report will include a discussion/analysis of the health and economic
effects of particulates and solutions to the particulate problems. (SC 12, SC 13, SC14, SC 16)
LD 50 lab – students will perform test for common household contaminants. (SC 15, SC 16)
Fast Food Waste Lab – students will purchase a fast food meal and calculate the calories of food
vs. the calories of the packaging (SC 12, SC 13, SC 15)
Biodiversity at a Grocery Store lab. (SC 12, SC 13)
Field trip to Water Quality Treatment plant (SC 17)
Field trip to Theller Wetlands Conservatory, Belfair WA (SC 17)